Iowa · United States
Find your next vegan meal in Des Moines
A 100% vegan East Village bakery, a diner with a full vegan breakfast menu and unusually deep Mexican, pizza and market-cafe plant-based sections give Des Moines more range than the city’s small number of dedicated vegan restaurants suggests.
This guide to vegan restaurants in Des Moines, Iowa starts with Cinnaholic as the fully vegan storefront, then highlights mixed restaurants that publish dedicated vegan menus rather than vague substitution promises.
Choose your kind of meal
These are editorial starting points, not rankings. Pick the meal and neighborhood first, then check the current menu.
Vegan bakery
Cinnaholic is 100% vegan and ideal for cinnamon rolls, brownies, cookies and dessert.
Breakfast
Railroad Bill’s opens at 7am with an entire vegan breakfast menu; Gateway Market adds weekend breakfast plus a plant-based lunch/dinner section.
Savory lunch & dinner
El Michoacano has a huge vegan Mexican menu, Dough Co. makes vegan whole pizzas and Lucky Lotus offers vegan-friendly Southeast Asian dishes.
Restaurants in this guide
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Cinnaholic Des Moines
East Village · East Grand Avenue
Cinnaholic is the clearest fully vegan storefront in this guide. The Des Moines bakery states that every product is 100% vegan, including its cinnamon rolls, brownies, cookies and edible cookie dough.
Before you orderThe official location page confirms the East Village address and vegan status, but its current hour table is not rendered in the public page text. Use the live pickup link before making a timed visit.
Highlights: A 100% vegan bakery in the East Village for cinnamon rolls, brownies, cookies and celebration treats.
| Vegan status | All products are 100% vegan, dairy-free and egg-free. |
|---|---|
| Address | 505 East Grand Avenue, Suite 101, Des Moines, IA 50309 |
| Hours | Check the official live pickup page for current daily hours. |
| Format | Bakery/dessert shop rather than a full savory restaurant. |
Railroad Bill's Dining Car
East Village · Des Moines Street
Railroad Bill’s is a classic mixed diner with a separate vegan menu that goes far beyond avocado toast. Vegan chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, tofu scramble, French toast, slingers and sandwiches are all published as dedicated vegan dishes.
How to order veganOrder from the vegan menu specifically. The main diner menu also contains meat, eggs and dairy, so do not assume a similarly named standard dish is vegan.
Highlights: One of Des Moines’ strongest vegan breakfast menus, available inside a traditional all-day diner.
| Vegan status | Mixed diner with a dedicated vegan menu. |
|---|---|
| Address | 621 Des Moines Street, Des Moines, IA 50309 |
| Published hours | Daily 7am–2pm. |
| Vegan breakfast | Vegan chicken & waffles, biscuits & gravy, French toast, tofu scramble and more. |
El Michoacano Taquería
Merle Hay · Des Moines
El Michoacano is a mixed Mexican restaurant with one of the broadest dedicated vegan sections in the city. Current options include soy-meat tacos, quesabirria, burritos, quesadillas, sopes, empanadas, tortas, flautas, enchiladas and nachos.
How to order veganStay within the restaurant’s vegan menu and check any add-ons. The wider restaurant also serves meat and dairy. The vegan section uses soy proteins, cactus, jackfruit and vegan cheese/sour cream in many dishes.
Highlights: A dedicated vegan Mexican menu with far more variety than simple bean-and-rice substitutions.
| Vegan status | Mixed restaurant with an extensive dedicated vegan menu. |
|---|---|
| Address | 2922 Merle Hay Road, Suite C, Des Moines, IA 50310 |
| Published hours | Mon–Sat 10am–9pm; Sun 11am–8pm. |
| Menu range | Vegan tacos, quesabirria, burritos, quesadillas, flautas, enchiladas and more. |
Dough Co. Pizza — Drake
Drake neighborhood · University Avenue
Dough Co. is a mixed New York-style pizzeria with several deliberate vegan paths. Its dough and sauce are vegan, vegan mozzarella is available, and the current ordering system lists named vegan pizzas plus a vegan grinder.
How to order veganChoose a named vegan pizza or substitute Daiya vegan mozzarella on a vegetarian pizza. Do not assume by-the-slice pizza is vegan: the operator says vegan pizza slices are not currently offered.
Highlights: Vegan whole pies, plant-based sausage and a dedicated Vegan Grinder in a mixed Drake-neighborhood pizzeria.
| Vegan status | Mixed pizzeria with documented vegan pizzas and sandwich options. |
|---|---|
| Address | 2330 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50311 |
| Current ordering hours | About 10:15/10:30am–8:30pm most days, later Fri–Sat, on current Toast listings. |
| Key limitation | No vegan pizza by the slice; order a whole vegan pie. |
Lucky Lotus
Ingersoll Avenue · Des Moines
Lucky Lotus serves Lao, Thai and Southeast Asian dishes with extensive vegan-friendly choices. Current menus mark plant-based options across spring rolls, tofu dishes, noodles, curries and rice plates, while meat, eggs and dairy also appear.
How to order veganFollow the menu’s vegan-friendly markers and confirm egg, fish sauce and dairy on noodle dishes or drinks. A tofu substitution alone does not always make a dish vegan.
Highlights: A strong mixed-group Asian restaurant where vegan options are designed into the menu rather than added as afterthoughts.
| Vegan status | Mixed kitchen with extensive vegan-friendly options. |
|---|---|
| Address | 2721 Ingersoll Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312 |
| Current hours | Recent 2026 listings: Mon–Thu 11am–3pm & 5–8pm; Fri–Sat 11am–3pm & 5–9pm; closed Sun. |
| Ordering note | Verify eggs, fish sauce and dairy even when tofu/vegetables are available. |
Gateway Market Cafe
Sherman Hill / Woodland Avenue · Des Moines
Gateway Market Cafe is a mixed cafe inside a gourmet market, but the current menu has a dedicated plant-based section with a black-bean burger, Beyond Burger, tofu banh mi and vegan fried “chicken” sandwich.
How to order veganOrder from the plant-based section and watch breakfast modifications carefully. The current lunch/dinner breakfast burrito still lists eggs and cheddar even when tofu scramble is selected, so it is not vegan without further changes.
Highlights: A dedicated vegan lunch/dinner section plus weekend breakfast inside a full-service specialty market.
| Vegan status | Mixed cafe with a dedicated plant-based section labeled “All vegan items.” |
|---|---|
| Address | 2002 Woodland Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312 |
| Cafe hours | Mon–Thu 10:30am–9pm; Fri–Sun 8am–9pm. |
| Breakfast | Weekend breakfast starts at 8am; verify individual vegan modifications. |
Vegan breakfast & brunch in Des Moines
Opening hours and meal periods are not always the same. Use the branch-specific notes below before planning an early start.
Best vegan breakfast depth
Railroad Bill’s opens at 7am daily and has dedicated vegan chicken & waffles, biscuits & gravy, tofu scramble and French toast.
Weekend market breakfast
Gateway Market Cafe opens at 8am Friday–Sunday, but breakfast orders need careful modification because eggs and dairy remain on the mixed menu.
Dessert rather than full breakfast
Cinnaholic is fully vegan but is a bakery, not a savory breakfast restaurant.
Lunch starts early
El Michoacano opens at 10am Monday–Saturday, while Dough Co. begins ordering around 10:15–10:30am.
Plan your Des Moines food stops
Use these as meal-planning ideas, not timed routes. Check your starting point, exact address and current service window before setting out.
Do not treat Dirt Burger as current
Dirt Burger’s East Village storefront closed; current 2026 community discussions refer to it as a missed former restaurant. It is not included as active.
New World Kitchen is meal prep, not a restaurant
The company explicitly says it is takeout-only weekly vegan meal prep now, so it is useful locally but not profiled as a restaurant.
Use dedicated vegan menus where available
Railroad Bill’s and El Michoacano both publish extensive vegan menus. Dough Co. explains its vegan pizza rules clearly in its FAQ.
Check ingredient-level details at Lucky Lotus
Tofu or vegetables alone do not guarantee a vegan dish when egg, fish sauce or dairy may appear.
Continue with our Minneapolis guide or Kansas City guide.
Des Moines vegan dining FAQ
Which Des Moines restaurant here is fully vegan?
Cinnaholic is the fully vegan storefront in this guide. Railroad Bill’s, El Michoacano, Dough Co., Lucky Lotus and Gateway Market are mixed kitchens with substantial vegan options.
Where can I get vegan breakfast?
Railroad Bill’s is the strongest option: it opens at 7am daily with a dedicated vegan breakfast menu.
Is El Michoacano vegan?
No. It is a mixed Mexican restaurant, but it publishes an unusually extensive vegan menu with tacos, quesabirria, burritos, quesadillas and more.
Can I get vegan pizza at Dough Co.?
Yes. The dough and sauce are vegan, vegan mozzarella is available and current ordering lists named vegan pizzas. The restaurant does not currently offer vegan pizza by the slice.
Why is Dirt Burger missing?
The East Village storefront is no longer an active restaurant, despite stale directory listings.
Why is New World Kitchen not a restaurant profile?
New World Kitchen explicitly says it is now a takeout-only vegan meal-prep business with weekly pickup/delivery rather than a restaurant.
Research notes & image credit
Checked 19 September 2026. Official restaurant websites, live ordering pages and current local destination sources were prioritized. This is desk research, not a claim of personal visits or a live reservation. Hours, menus, prices and service formats can change after the research date.
Vegan descriptions refer to menu ingredients, not allergy-safe preparation. Vegetarian and mixed kitchens are labeled separately. Dirt Burger was excluded as a closed storefront, and New World Kitchen is treated as meal prep rather than a restaurant because the operator explicitly says it is no longer a restaurant.
Featured image: Des Moines skyline by Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Photographed in 2026; resized and potentially cropped for display.
Google media: External Google Maps photos. Food shown is not necessarily vegan. Google attribution remains visible. Photos are not used as evidence of vegan status, and ambiguous place matches are not shown.
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